THE INTERNATIONAL
PHOTO CONTESTS DIRECTORY 2026

• Decode Gallery • Deadline: May 23rd, 2026 • Category: Black and White • Prize: Exhibition in Tucson + Sales + Exposure • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Decode Gallery is excited to announce its next exhibition theme: Black and White. There’s something undeniably powerful about black and white photography—it’s where the medium began, and it remains just as compelling today. Without the distraction of color, images rely on contrast, light, shadow, and tone to tell

• Photo Artfolio • Deadline: May 13th, 2026 • Theme: Street Rhythms (Street Photography) • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The street can be understood as a site of continuous performance—an open, unscripted stage where life reveals itself through movement, interaction, and chance. It is a space where stories intersect, where ordinary moments acquire meaning, and where the rhythms of daily existence become visible throu

• Photometria International Photo Festival • Deadline: May 31st, 2026 • Judge: Alec Soth • Prize: Nikon Z30 Kit + Exhibition in Greece • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE With its eighteenth edition, the festival crosses a symbolic threshold, entering a stage that echoes the very theme it seeks to explore: maturity as both arrival and uncertainty. This moment becomes a mirror, reflecting the layered experience of transition. Coming of Age (18+) does not treat adulth

• National Geographic

• AKC American Kennel Club • Deadline: October 31st, 2026 • Theme: The Great Outdoors • Prize: $1,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Photographers with established experience, as well as those in the early stages of developing their craft, are invited to participate in the 2026 AKC Photo Contest. This year’s theme, “The Great Outdoors,” encourages submissions that capture the beauty, diversity, and spirit of natural environments. E

• Dusk Gallery • Deadline: May 22nd, 2026 • Theme: Abandoned • Prize: Exhibition in Santa Fe (USA) + Sales • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Abandoned is a theme that invites you to slow down and look closely at what remains when something is left behind. It asks photographers to engage with absence as much as presence—to notice the marks, structures, and emotions that persist even after people or purpose have disappeared. This could take the form of deserted buildi

• Canon • Deadline: May 19th, 2026 • Category: Photojournalist • Prize: €8,000 + Exhibition in Perpignan (France) • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE For the twenty-sixth year, Canon is offering the Canon Women Photojournalist Grant to recognize and support the work of a professional female photojournalist. This long-standing initiative highlights the important role women play in documenting events, telling stories, and bringing global issues to public attention thr

• All About Photo • Deadline: June 2nd, 2026 • Theme: Black and White Photography • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Black and white photography has long been celebrated for its ability to transcend time, capturing scenes with a poetic stillness that feels both nostalgic and deeply expressive. Stripped of color, the viewer’s attention is drawn more intensely to the interplay of light and shadow, the strength of composit

• Realme • Deadline: June 30th, 2026 • Category: Street Photography • Prize: $7,000 + Realme Phone + Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The realme Global Photography Awards 2026 is an international mobile photography competition that invites realme smartphone users from around the world to capture and share their creativity. Free to enter and open to all skill levels, the contest highlights the growing influence of smartphone photography as a powerful and

• New York Center for Photographic Arts • Deadline: June 7th, 2026 • Theme: From A Seed...A World of Botanicals • Prize: $4,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The New York Center for Photographic Art (NYC4PA) is calling on photographers worldwide to submit their images, welcoming all styles and techniques. Participants are free to use any photographic process, whether it be traditional or experimental, such as standard prints, imag

• Deloitte • Deadline: June 14th, 2026 • Theme: Proximities • Prize: €25,000 + Solo Exhibition in Milan (Italy) • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE For this section of the program, a group of ten distinguished reporters has been carefully selected. These individuals are recognized figures within the international landscape of cultural production, each bringing a unique perspective shaped by their professional experience. The selected personalities include Alberto Ne

• P.M.O.H. • Deadline: May 7th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: €2,500 + VAT Budget + 3 Solo Exhibitions in Italy • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The PhMuseum Days Open Call returns for its 5th edition, inviting visual artists to participate in an international platform dedicated to contemporary photography. The selected works will be presented during the PhMuseum Days Festival, held from 1–4 October in Bologna, Italy—a context that brings together artistic experimen

• The Mangrove Action Project • Deadline: June 1st, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: $1,000 + Worldwide Exposure • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Mangrove Photography Awards 2026, organized by the Mangrove Action Project, is an international competition designed to highlight the significance of mangrove ecosystems worldwide. These environments are essential for maintaining biodiversity, supporting coastal livelihoods, and mitigating climate change

• Black Box Gallery • Deadline: May 8th, 2026 • Category: Shadow and Light • Prize: Exhibition in Portland (USA) + Sales • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Black Box Gallery is excited to present a juried group photography exhibition focused on the theme of shadow and light. Photography is fundamentally about capturing how light interacts with the world, creating patterns of brightness and darkness that define what we see in an image. Shadows are an essential part o

• Australian Photographic Prize • Deadline: May 31st, 2026 • Category: Several Categories • Prize: AUD $5,000 + Trophy + Exposure • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Australian Photographic Prize welcomes photographers from all walks of life—whether you are a seasoned professional, a passionate amateur, or a student just beginning your creative journey. Open to entrants from Australia and around the world, the competition brings together a dynamic and diverse glo

• Photo Artfolio • Deadline: May 13th, 2026 • Theme: Street Rhythms (Street Photography) • Prize: $1,000 + Online Exhibition + Exposure • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The street is never still. It moves, shifts, and evolves—a living stage where everyday life unfolds in real time. From split-second gestures to overlapping stories and unexpected interactions, it offers an endless source of visual inspiration driven by rhythm, spontaneity, and human presence. Photo

• PhotoEd Magazine • Deadline: June 15th, 2026 • Theme: Home vs Away • Prize: Publication (Digital & Print) • Entry Fees: Free for Subscribers • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE photoED Magazine celebrates photography by bringing forward diverse visual stories and presenting them in a fresh and engaging light. The magazine is dedicated to highlighting artists whose work reflects both technical creativity and thoughtful exploration of contemporary themes. For Issue #76, the focus will

• Siena Awards • Deadline: June 15th, 2026 • Category: Drone / Aerial Photography • Prize: €400 Cash + €500 Gears + Exhibitions • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Drone Photo Awards is a global celebration of aerial photography, bringing together professional, amateur, and student drone photographers who share a passion for seeing the world from new and extraordinary perspectives. The competition highlights the creative potential of drone technology and honors

• The Global Peace Photo Award • Deadline: May 24th, 2026 • Theme: What Does Peace Look Like? • Prize: €11,000 in Prizes + Exhibition in Austria • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The Global Peace Photo Award, formerly known as the Alfred Fried Photography Award, is a prestigious international competition that highlights photography focused on themes of peace and humanity. The award is organized by Edition Lammerhuber in partnership with a broad coalition of respec

• ReA! Art Fair • Deadline: May 6th, 2026 • Theme: Open • Prize: 1,500€ + Exhibitions in Milan (Italy) • Entry Fees: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The ReA! Art Fair Open Call invites emerging visual artists worldwide to submit their work for possible inclusion in the forthcoming edition of the fair. This international contemporary art platform is committed to promoting independent artistic practices and fostering the visibility of new and underrepresented creative voices. Di

• Narwhal Rainbow Alliance • Deadline: May 31st, 2026 • Theme: Queer Nature (non-human) • Prize: €1000 + Exhibitions + Publication • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Welcome to the Queer Nature Photography Awards, a celebration of the powerful relationship between queerness and the extraordinary diversity found throughout the natural world. Nature is filled with complexity, variation, and surprising forms of life that often defy simple definitions. From shifting id

• Arcadian Gallery • Deadline: May 15th, 2026 • Category: Nature Photography • Prize: $2,000 + Exhibition in Cumberland (USA) • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE The International Nature Photography Competition & Exhibition brings together photographers from around the world to celebrate the power and beauty of nature through the lens. From striking images of wildlife and plant life to breathtaking landscapes and thought-provoking conservation stories, the competition

• Decagon Gallery • Deadline: June 3rd, 2026 • Category: Portals • Prize: $1,000 Prize Pool + Online Exhibition • Entry Fee: Yes • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE Some photographs seem to exist as thresholds. They hold the viewer in a suspended moment—at the edge between two places, two times, or even two states of being. These images do not simply depict a scene; they create a sense of transition, of something unresolved yet full of possibility. PORTAL invites submissions that evok

• Canon • Deadline: May 19th, 2026 • Category: Photojournalist • Prize: €8,000 + Exhibition in Perpignan (France) • Entry Fees: Free • REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE For over a quarter of a century, Canon has championed the voices and perspectives of women in the field of visual journalism through the Canon Women Photojournalist Grant. Now in its twenty-sixth year, the grant continues to honor a photographer whose work contributes meaningfully to the evolving landscape of photojour